The New England Patriots finally have their offense operating at full speed after a very slow start to the season, but now injuries are starting to plague more than incomplete passes. After the Patriots held their breathe regarding the status of Tom Brady's mysterious ankle injury, the team lost two of their biggest players to what could be significant injuries down the road.
Both Jerod Mayo and running back Stevan Ridley left the game against the Buffalo Bills early after sustaining knee injuries that might be worse than the Patriots were hoping for. According to Albert Breer of NFL Media, both players will undergo MRIs on Monday, but the outlook is not positive. The Patriots fear that they both could have suffered torn ACLs in the win. For the defense, losing Mayo is losing a leader. For the offense, Ridley was the starting running back good or bad which hurts the team's depth.
Ridley and the entire Patriots' run game was struggling this season. The running back is in a contract year which does not help his status moving forward. Ridley had just 317 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the season while averaging just 3.8 yards per carry. With the offense already struggling with consistency, this is a big blow.
Fantasy owners should take note that the Patriots have one of the best backups in the league in Shane Vereen.He has 216 yards and one touchdown to his name this season while averaging a solid 5.1 yards per carry. He will get the start pending the results of Ridley's MRI. The Patriots' ground game will not lose a step too much with him in place of the starter. Alongside Vereen, Brandon Bolden and James White will be expected to step up for Brady in the coming weeks. The Patriots play the New York Jets on short rest meaning likely no matter what, Vereen is starting.
The Patriots did not do a lot of rushing in their win over Buffalo. Six players combined for 50 yards off 27 carries. Meanwhile, Brandon LaFell had a solid game putting up 97 yards and two touchdowns while Tim Wright also got his first Patriots touchdown. Head coach Bill Belichick is confident in Vereen if Ridley is out.
"If Shane cuts it back inside [too early], that linebacker is going to make the tackle," Belichick said, via ESPN.com. "So he does a nice job of starting to the outside, widening the linebacker, Connolly kicks him out and then Shane makes the cutback in there for the extra yardage. That's really good running, a well-executed play there between the running back and guard."
